Va. Tech Gets Max $55K Fine for Late Massacre Day Warning; Much More Deserved, Official Says

Virginia Tech has been fined $55,000 for waiting almost two hours before warning students of an on-campus slaying that took place on the same day a deranged student later killed 30 more individuals on campus and himself nearly four years ago.

The fine is the maximum allowed under the federal Clery Act, reports the Washington Post. But “Virginia Tech’s violations warrant a fine far in excess of what is currently permissible under the statute,” wrote Mary Gust of the Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid in a letter to the university president, Charles Steger.

The university, which has previously said it did not violate the statute’s timely warning requirement, had no immediate comment. It has a month to appeal the sanction.